New TV-what to buy?

I've been thinking of buying a new television. I have a few specs it needs to be widescreen, flat, and good sound(14watt would be good enough) also under $1k. i was thinking about Dell's W2606C 26" LCD, though, i've never seen one up close and would be taking a chance on it. Would anyone please suggest something with the mentioned specs! thanks ~Spario

I have actually seen a Dell 26" in person, and with the appropriate grain of salt (not knowing the source of the video), I was disappointed with the quality of the picture. It appeared grainy and blocky, with inconsistent color intensity. Based on that experience, I would stay away.

LCD TVs in general tend to be much more expensive than DLP projection TVs, for a depth savings of about 8" in the end. If you're not going to be wall-mounting it or anything, I'd highly recommend a nice HDTV set that uses projection technology. Just recently I saw a Magnavox advertised for $949 (51" DLP HDTV set supporting 720p). I wasn't able to find a TV on display for less than $3000 that did 1080, but I was just browsing casually.

I've been thinking of buying a new television. I have a few specs it needs to be widescreen, flat, and good sound(14watt would be good enough) also under $1k. i was thinking about Dell's W2606C 26" LCD, though, i've never seen one up close and would be taking a chance on it. Would anyone please suggest something with the mentioned specs! thanks ~Spario

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DO NOT buy any TV without being able to see it in person!!!! That is the #1 WORST mistake you could make.

All tv's (&monitors) look different to different people, and in different environments.....

Go store shopping, see them up close, get the prices & exact model numbers, THEN go online, check the reviews, and find the best deals

I'm smitten with the Sharp Aquos. I'll be getting one soon, fwiw. Good hunting!

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Ditto. I had a 45 inch version in my office for a month or so as part of an evaluation for a new training center we're building and it kicked a$$. Fabulous video quality, inputs for everything imaginable. (I had the commercial version that even included the RS-232 port.)

I've been thinking of buying a new television. I have a few specs it needs to be widescreen, flat, and good sound(14watt would be good enough) also under $1k. i was thinking about Dell's W2606C 26" LCD, though, i've never seen one up close and would be taking a chance on it. Would anyone please suggest something with the mentioned specs! thanks ~Spario

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Why would you buy a Dell TV? Especially without being able to see it. The only thing Dell ever had going for them was the price. This isn't the case anymore. You can buy the highest level Panasonic TV's for less then the Dell's. I suggest you look at them.

Why would you buy a Dell TV? Especially without being able to see it. The only thing Dell ever had going for them was the price. This isn't the case anymore. You can buy the highest level Panasonic TV's for less then the Dell's. I suggest you look at them.

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You get what you pay for. For something as important as a TV, don't buy a Dell just to save a few bucks. Not worth it - buy something quality instead.

I have actually seen a Dell 26" in person, and with the appropriate grain of salt (not knowing the source of the video), I was disappointed with the quality of the picture. It appeared grainy and blocky, with inconsistent color intensity. Based on that experience, I would stay away.

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This true, in some cases. With just a cable line using the built in tuner of the tv, the picture would turn out very bad. With an lcd, if youre going to spend the money get an hdtv tuner or a digital set top box. It will improve the picture dramaticly. I picked up a sone 32" lcd yesterday, picked up the set top box today, BIG DIFFERENCE.

Take a look at the Sharp Aquos lines for that size. They tend to be a tad bit on the pricey side but they look excellent. I'll be adding a 26" aquos to my gaming room very soon myself. The new models are coming out in March though, so you can either get the current line for a little less now, or pay the extra 400 they are going to go up in MSRP.

Not true. I have a samsung dlp projection tv 50". It is an hdtv m,onitor with an hd set top box from comcast. It supports 720i 720p 1080i and 1080p, it was also 2700, not above 3000.

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Yeah, they may just not have listed 1080 on the information cards, and like I said I was just browsing to waste time, not actually shopping for a TV. But the lower-cost HDTV panels that the OP is looking for are probably not going to do 1080...because I've never seen one even close to his price range that has that kind of resolution.

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